Pneumatic engine for musical-instrument actions



2 Sheet'S-Sheet- 1.

(No Model.)

E. STONE.V

PNEUMATIG ENGINE POR MUSICAL INSTRUMENT ACTIONS.

Patented Dee. 28, 1886..

Inventor I 'witnesses 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

' P, STONE.

PNEUMATIG ENGINE POR MUSICALV INSTRUMENT ACTIONS.

Patented Dee. 28, 1886.

wein/emes, y Mm M y fm f' Mh) i? @wf/Mu Nunn 'RANK STONE; OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

' '-PNEMAncgNGINE .Fon MUSICAL-INSTRUMENT ACTIONS.

' sPncrrIcnTIoN 'forming 'pm ofsneuers referierte. 355,229, dared December 2a, 1886.

Application filed September 1 2, 18S 5. .Serial'Nd 176,961.V (No model.) 'I

To all who-mf it concern/:7

Be itknown 'that LJPRANKt S'roNn, -a'lctizen of the United States, residing atWorcester, in f .-.thefconnty of- Worcester and State of Massa- ;5 chuset'ts, haveA invented certain newfa'ndnsefnl 'Improvements lin TneulnaticEngines forv Musical-Instrument Actions; and I declare the'i` following to be 'adescriptio'n'of my said in vention suciently i`u1l`,.clear, and exact I to loenableothersfskilledintlie.art to which it appertains to make and .use the samefrefer` j .e'neleb'eijng had to the accompanyingdrawings, 'whichform apart of .this speciiication.

v Theobjectsof 'my present invention are to --15 jprovide apractical. and vecient en'gne for op 'erating th'e'mechanismoffmusical instruments bypnellmftic force. generated by the'bellows-v faction.; yt'o provide a pneumatic engine having. motors `and-valve' vmechani'sin constructed y'and disposed in anianner'to give powerful 'action'. on the operated shaft, vwhile requiring but'lit- I tle air for their operation, and which. run-withv 'the smallest fractionof loss from waste'of air l l: and friction; lto'provide.meansforpneumati ally actuating the valves.' which l`c`o nt'ro1l' thev Vingress'andi'egi'ess of air to'an'd froml theA 'motorsito provide means vfonadjustin'g or regulati'n'glthe valveation so -that'the force i lof --the respective `:motors will be j exerted'- and relieved at the lproper Ainstant of time; tov con-'- struct and combine the several 'parts .of the lmechanism with eaehfotherl with. a- View to- -convenience and durability in use andi ina manner that will jaord facilities for economic manufacture.v 'These'jobj ects I attain by mech-I anism the nature,`construction, and ,operation of whicghareexplainedin the following descrip? tion, the'- particular subject matter I':lainn'ed beinghereinafterdefinitelyspecified. 4 0 Y -In the drawings, Fige l isa front viewfof tionwith the 'wind-chesteand action of a niechanical muscaljinstrunent, 'with thel karrangement of the driving-belts'for operating vscale; .indicating the bellows and pedals;v

y,'win`d chest v otherwise-disposed iny relation to sages foracommon' exhaustion of air. 'f Said wind-chest may be apart-'of Vthe' main `windvchest A@ orbe placed in a horizontal 'position :frontplane'of thewind-chest, 'monntedto turna in bearings,rand, provided with-a number of with eachother.

- my pneumaticenginefor musical instruments.

verticaljse'eton of'th'eiengine mechanism at respective cran-ks c on the operatingisha'ft C by.

the music-sheet, (indicated by dotted or`broken'- 1i nes,)and.al s o showing the combinationwithI the engine, "trnvelingf'music-sheet;andrewl action ofafan-"tremolo drivenby the engine. mechanism.` .F-ig. 4r is a diagram, on smaller i -Inreferring'to-parts,`-A'indicates th'e'wind f chestot the pneumatic engine; which' is ar- 'ranged in ,connection wither auxiliary to the main wind-chest A ofthe musical instrument, rin such manner that theair within its interior 6o chamber can bje exhausted by the'action of the` A'bellows B -wheu the pedals b are worked, the

engine being yoperated' by the' same exhaust- 'ing action. as -that employed for sox'ln'dingthe'` .6

reedsor playing the instru-ment. -V Said windchest A is in the present instance located fin i .an upright position on the rear part. of the will. be found more convenient to.' have said 70 he musical action, and .it may therefore 'be placedinany convenientrelation tothe main wind-chests', its interior chamber being connected by'any suitableiarrangem'entof pas- :thereon-.W f l C-indicates a shaft arranged paraliel to the cranks; c, standing -at -different'angles -in rela 'tionftoneach other, to lwhi-chcranks the severalinotorsfare connected. f 4

^ D D" D2 indicate a series -of motors arranged 8'5 en the face'of theiwind-che'st in the/same plane y Said'motors are constructed in al'mannersimilar to .the.'feedersi'oil-organ-1 be1lovrs, and consist of' collapsible lchambers f. withr flexible sides/and tops of rubbereloth or other suitable fabric, and with movable front boards hinged at the bottom edges,so that their A top ends willrespectiv'ely 'swingoutward and inward as the'air-pressure withinthe'motoris varied. In the present instance three motors are shown; but a greater'lnumb'er maylbe eni-l ployedQif desired, all being constructed andarrangedl substantially similar to .those herein' 'l` shown; The motors are connected with the Ioo 'means of piitmauufods,V as d', pivoted or hinged to .their movable ends, as indicated.

" In the back of each of the motors there is a port, e, (see dotted lines, Fig.,l,) opening'into` the interior of the wind-chest A, and provided with a valve, E, within the air-chamber, andl 5 also a port or passage, f, extending through to the exterior, and provided with avalve, F, on

the opposite side of the wind-chest. Within the wind-chest there are arranged sets lof expansible pneumatic fingers,I and J, into which 1o air-passages 'i and j lead from the exterior or top' of the chest.. (See dotted lines, Fig. 1.)

rI Jhepneumatics I'connect by means' of pitmanpin'I, for opening the valves F when" the pneu-` matic is expanded, Aand the valves E are each 1 5 provided'with an arm and adjustable stud, c',

whereby they are operated' from the pneumatic fingers J. p l

' H and K indicate valves arranged uponthe i outsideof the chest, over the ends of the airpassages and j. Saidvalves are connected in pairs to reciprocating bars G, the interval of connection being such that when one valve is'opened the other is closed, and vice versa.

The reciprocating bar Gand valves H and 2 5 Kin each set are operated by the arm of a lever, L, fulcrumed, as at l, withV its opposite arm actuated by a cam oreccentric, C", on the shaft C. The bars G are provided with screwbuttons or suitable adjusting devices, n, whereby-the parts can be regulated to give thefrequired movement at the proper instant of time. The several valves E and F are provided with springs E F', to e'ect their closing action, and aspring, g, is arranged to press on v' the bar G, for holding the valves K and H to Springs L are also provided for their work. pressing down the levers .L in "opposition'to the cam movement. j

M and m indicate pulleys on the shaft()1 for 4o the music-working bands. Said pulleys are loose on the shaft, and are bron ht into action by means of a sliding clutch, that is tted to revolve with said shaft, and which can be moved eitherto right or left to engage either of said pulleys at will, suitable locking-lugs bev ing employed thereon for effecting theirlrevolation. l'

` The musical instrument may be of any kind desired or constructed in suitable manner, andl V- 5o the engine may be applied thereto substantially as illustrated in Fig. 3.

XV denotes the bandlfor operating the winding shaft or spool S for drawing forward the music-sheet, and w the band for operating the rewinding-spool S.

The shaft C may be placed at any convenient position in relation to the motors D, it

being parallelto the plane thereof, so as to bev ,rotated bythe serial connections, and the camsv 6o may be of eccentric or other irregular form, such as desired, for imparting the required time and quality of movement to the valves' for vcontrolling the action of the motors. The crank-shaft having cams 'and employed with vmotors D, arranged in the same plane and Vparallel therewith, .may be-.used for operating During this action the shaft C isbeing revolved by the other motors D, which have pre- ,the bar G is -reciprocated, and valveH'is' the chamber A through porte, thus eiiectin'g the moving, in or out of the gate or slidevalve valves of other construction than those herein shown', or Awhen the valve controls the inletor exit of 'air direct to or from the motor D. 'A sliding gate or valve, X, is provided for closing the passage between the auxiliary wind-chest A and exhaust-chamber Ar', and a gate or valve, Y, is also provided for stopping off the sounding devices from the exhaust-- chamber A' during the' rewinding operation, 75 so that the bellows-B and engine can be' operi" .ated without producing ysound whilelrewindf ing the musicsheet. The-cutoff valveY and clutch device 'N may be connected for simultaneous operation, if desired. The' operation of my improved mechanism is as follows, viz: The .-s'eve'ral motors and valve devices are arranged to operate in'regular rotative order, so that at all times some oneA or more of them is in full action, exerting 4force for revolving the shaft C.` while the' others are recovering their position. Thus, assuming that .the parts are in position, as shown in Fig.3, andthe chamber A exhausted, the valve H being open, the 'pneumatici is expanded by atmospheric vpressure entering passage i, and the exterior airs-valve, F, is thereby lheld open, so that air can pass `inthrongh port f-tofillthe motor-chamber D.

yviously been illed -and are at the time in conl munication with tho -chamber A. -VVhen'the cam Cl arrives at a position to lift the lever-.1), l loo thereby closed and valve K is opened, letting l in air-pressure topneumatic-J and stopping; it ot from pneumatic I. The former immediately expands, forcing 'open valve E, wliile the lattercollapses and allows the valve F. to '105 close under the action of -its spring. -fIminediately on the shifting ofthe.valves-.the'exlA haustion .Within the w'indfchest-A'causes the atmospheric pressure from without t'o'act upon- Y the motor D, and the airii'ows therefromto the collapse o'f the motor D',`and as 'the to'p of .said motor is linked to the crank; c the revolution of the shaft C and cams G is 'consequently eected. The cam, by actuating the" 1ever`L, again shifts the valves H and K, stop' ping ofi' the pneumatic J, and allowingair to enter the other pneumatic, L'which latter im-v mediately expands and opens Ythe valve ,F,' while the former collapses and allows the. valve E to close. The exterior air is thus againallowed to enter the motor without hinderance, and the top. board is drawn out by the revolution of the crank c.v This operation, being consecutively repeated by eachvof the several motors D, which are severally ar` ranged in the same plane with eachA other, .revolves the shaft C with Aa continuous, steady, and powerful action, which can be varied byV 13o X, so as to give any desired degree of.'V speed. By meansof the screw-buttons oradjusting devices n, the action of the small valves H and K and pneumatic fingers can be accurately regulated,.so thatthe ports aand f will be opened and,closed at the exact required inplane, in combination With'ja'crank-shaft ar#A ranged parallel to the plane of said motors,

connections-linking saidmotors respectively to the cranks 'on said shaft,and pnelimatically-- actuated valve 'mechanism controlling the'in .gress and egress of 'air to said motor's,substan 'tially asset forth; I

2.'In "a pneumatic. engine for musical instruments, lthe combination, with. a revoluble shaft, of a .collapsible motor connected for imparting rotative action to said shaft and Apro-v vided with inlet `and exit p`orts,va1ves for conf trolling the ingress and egress of air to said motor, and pneumaticngersV for actuating.

:said valves, 'substantially as set forth.

The"'co'mbination of the shaft interior of the exhaust-chamberorvvindchest,`

- `valv'es'fc'nj opening and closiugsaid ports,p neu 4matic fingers within the exhaustchambeqgrespectively connected'i" i` .operating said-valves, and valve devices for controlling tiiepneumaticaction of saidingers actuatedfroinfthe shaft or l1,5. t erior of. said wind-chest, the internally-dief mechanism operated'l by; said motors, substantially as set forth.

. 4. The combination, Withthe Wind-chest and rvoluble shaft C, having operatinglcon 'nectio'na as d, of the m'otorfD,lhaving the ports @leading into the interior of saidl wind-chest,

v posed valve. E, the externally-disposed'valve F, and pneumatic actuating devices'connected -for .operating said valves, substantially .as set forth. v

provided' with o'setting' cranks, .a series offcollaps'ible .Inotor-chambershaving inlet-ports .leadingl from the exterior and exit-portsleading to the 355.229 A l s 'Ina motor for operatingv the traveling. 5o.4

music-sheet in a musical instrument, the comv bination, with valves for controlling'the in-v gress and egress of .arto the motor, operated by pneumatic force induced by the bellows, of valves for admitting airto the pneumatic de vices, operated by mechanism in. connection with the crank-shaft or motor,'substantiallyas setforth. I.

6. The. combination of an exhanstwindchest, as A, motors arrangedf on the face 6o thereof, having ports, as e and `f,'valves E and F forsaid ports, pneumatic ingers I and J," connected to work said valves, external valves', H and K, valves connecting bar G, lever L, crank-shaft C, cams C?, 'and'pitman rodsfor links Z,`substantially' as and for the purpose setforth.. '5 7. The combination,wit-li valve-:operating Ipneumatic fingers IandJ,`of the valvesiliand- I K, connection-.piece G, actuating-1e ver L, and17o adjusting devices n lnl,sut'istantially as and for the. purpose set-forth. f

8.. The combination, with mot0rsD,D,.-an'd D, crankshaftj'O, and links d, of the valves E' .and F, pneumatic fingersfI and J .connected therewith','fas1 described, the valves H and K, bar G, lever L', C", pulleysM/m, bandS W W', spoolsjgSl' Sf, andmusicsheet -l?, substantiallyaasf and v O 'l; 'tl 1ej'pnrpose set forth.

. '9.' A lpnef'u matic`- engine for' musical insbruments, comprising aseries of motors or col,- lapsible chambers,- Aand provided with adjustingbdevices for regulating thetime of action of the controlling air-valves in relation to the ivalve-operating Amechanism and the move- 8'5 ment'of the moton, as set forth,whe1 eby eitherv "0 1"` the lmotors .can be caused to exert its force at an earlier orV later instant in relationto the fothers. l

Witness my hand this 29th .day of August, '9o A.A`D.:1se5.f, I I FRANK sirornai;v

i'"Vifitli'easetl:f` l v Cms. H. BURLEIGH, WILLIAM REAR-DING.- 

